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John Stradling
Sir John Stradling (1563-1637) was an English poet and scholar. Life Stradling was the son of Francis and Elizabeth Stradling of St. George's, near Bristol, where he was born in 1563. His great-uncle, Sir Edward Stradling, being childless, adopted John and bequeathed him his estate. Stradling was educated under Edward Green, a canon of Bristol, and at Oxford, where he matriculated from Brasenose College on 18 July 1580, and earned a B.A. from Magdalen Hall on 7 February 1583-4, being then accounted "a miracle for his forwardness in learning and pregnancy of parts" (Wood). He studied for a time at one of the inns of court, and then travelled abroad.Thomas, 15. He was sheriff of Glamorganshire for 1607 and 1620, and was knighted on 15 May 1608, being then described as of Shropshire. In 1609 he succeeded to the castle and estate of St. Donat's in Glamorganshire, and was created a baronet on 22 May 1611, standing 5th on the first list of baronets. He was elected M.P. for St. Germans, Cornwall, on 15 Jan. 1624–5; for Old Sarum on 23 April 1625, his colleague there being Michael Oldisworth, who married one of his daughters; and for Glamorganshire on 6 Feb. 1625–6, in which year he was also a commissioner for raising a crown loan in that county. Stradling married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Gage of Firle, Sussex. By her he had 8 sons (of whom 4 survived to adulthood),Thomas, 16. and 3 daughters. Stradling appears to have enjoyed a great reputation for learning, and "was courted and admired" by Camden (who quotes him as "vir doctissimus" in his Britannia, 1607, p. 498), by Sir John Harington, Thomas Leyson, and Ioan David Rhys, to all of whom he wrote epigrams (James Harrington in his Preface to George Stradling's Sermons). To carry out the wishes of his predecessor in the title, he built, equipped, and endowed a grammar school at Cowbridge, but the endowment seems to have subsequently lapsed. Writing Stradling was the author of: 1. ‘A Direction for Trauailers. Taken out of Ivstvs Lipsius, and enlarged for the behoofe of the Right Honorable Lord, the yong Earle of Bedford, being now ready to trauell,’ London, 1592, 4to; a translation of Lipsius's ‘Epistola de Peregrinatione Italica.’ 2. ‘Two Bookes of Constancie; written in Latine by Iustus Lipsius; containing, principallie, a comfortable Conference in common Calamities,’ London, 1595, 4to; a translation of Lipsius's ‘De Constantia libri duo,’ which had been published at Antwerp in 1584. Stradling also mentions Lipsius's ‘Politickes’ among those ‘bookes wherein I had done mine endeuor by translating to pleasure you,’ but this does not appear to have been published, possibly because another translation of the work by one William Jones appeared in the same year. 3. ‘De Vita et Morte contemnenda libri duo,’ Frankfort, 1597, 8vo (Bodleian Libr. Cat.; cf. Wood, Athenæ Oxon. ii. 397; Stradling, Epigrams, p. 26). 4. ‘Epigrammatum libri quatuor,’ London, 1607, 8vo. 5. ‘Beati Pacifici: a Divine Poem written to the Kings Most Excellent Maiestie … Perused by his Maiesty, and printed by Authority’ (London, 1623, 4to), with a portrait of James I engraved by R. Vaughan. 6. Divine Poems: In seven severall Classes, written to his Most Excellent Maiestie, Charles First … London, 1625, 4to. The poetry is of a didactic character; the work was described by Theophilus Field, bishop of Llandaff, in commendatory verses, as "A Sustaeme Theologicall, a paraphrase upon the holy Bible" (cf. Robert Hayman, Quodlibets … from Newfoundland, London, 1628, p. 62). A Poetical Description of Glamorganshire by Stradling is also mentioned (Notes and Queries, 3rd ser. iii. 448), but of this nothing is known. Publications Poetry *''Joannis Stradlingi epigrammatum libri quatuor''. London: Eliot's Court Press, for Georgii Bishop & Ioannis Norton, 1607. *''Beati Pacifici: A diuine poem''. London: Felix Kingston, for the Company of Stationers, 1623. *''Diuine poemes: In seuen seuerall classes''. London: William Stansby, 1625. Non-fiction *''The Storie of the Lower Borowes of Merthyrmawr'' (edited by J.H. Randall & William Rees). Cardiff: William Lewis, for the South Wales and Monmouth Record Society, 1932. Translated *Justus Lipsius, A direction for trauailers. London: By R. Bourne, for Cutbert Burbie, 1592. *Justus Lipsius, Two Bookes of Constancie. London: Richard Iohnes, 1594 **(edited by Rudolf Kirk & Clayton Morris Hall). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1939. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:John Stradling, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 8, 2016. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Dec. 8, 2016. Notes External links ;About *Sir John Stradling (1563-1637) at English Poetry, 1579-1830 *Stradling, Sir John 1st. Bt. (1563-1637) in History of Parliament Online, 1604-1629. * Stradling, John Category:1563 births Category:1637 deaths Category:17th-century poets Category:Alumni of Magdalen Hall, Oxford Category:English-language poets Category:English poets Category:Poets